NEWS OF THE DAY

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 41, 18 February 1938, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Mr C. J. Adcock, M.A., will speak at the Lunch Club to-day. Hia subject is “ Esperanto.' ■' Mr M. H. Oram is to preside. When it flow into a rainstorm so dense that landmarks were obliterated, the East Coast Airways 'plane Tui, flown by Pilot Mathieson and carrying a Hull load ol: passengers and luggage, made an unexpected landing on Wednesday afternoon at the Waipukurau aerodrome. The 'plane landed at 3 p.m. and took off again an hour later. It was en route from Palmerston North to Napier. The pilot signalled his intention to land after flying low over the township to attract attention. Oily material in the pond in the Botanical Gardens at Wellington may have tragic consequences for the two white swans which for many years have been a well-known attraction for visitors. Their feathers have been impregnated with an oily substance, and their condition is so bad that they may have to be destroyed. There is some hope, however, that the birds may survive, as they have been taken to the zoo, whero the curator, Mr. J. Langridgc, is to treat them. Concern wan expressed at the annual conference of the N.Z. Builders' Federation in Palmerston North at the loss recognised builders suffered through* workers taking on outside jobs on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays and it was decided to make representations to the Government that the law be amend ed so as to prohibit workers doing work which ordinarily should be performed by their employers. It was stated that much of this work was done at prices low r er than the builder could charge iiud there were further minor effects c f the practice such as the men coming back to work with blunt tools anti having to sharpen them in the employer's time. The presence of flies in large numbers during the recent hot weather has been causing annoyance to patients at the Waipukurau District Hospital. At the meeting of the Waipawa Hospital Board Mr. L. Glenny asked what wds being done to check these pests. The secretary-mam.ger, Mr. P. 11. Smyrk, replied that spray was used freely together with kerosene baths and glass traps. He undertook, however, to see that the working of the system was investigated. “This week has been the' worst for a number of years for tno number of flies about," Mr. Srnyrk added, and the chairman, Mr. W. H. Rathbone, agreed with him on this point. “Tho flies are terribly annoying to hospital patients," said Mr. Glenny. A suggestion that more time should be devoted by school committees »o procuring either ’of the essentials of advanced education or, alternatively, to equipping schools with appliances for physical drill such as wands and dumbbells, and ende avouring to get suitable gymnasia, was made by Mr. J. Fyfe, president of the Wellington School Committees' and Education Federation, at a meeting of the federation. In the discussion which followed there was general agreement that if a child were physically lit, less training was required to make him mentally lit. It was decided to send a copy of the following motion to the Minister of Education, Hon. P. Fraser: “This federation trusts that in the Government's educational fitness scheme, provision will be made for its introduction into the schools." Jocular reference to a recent case in the Supreme Court, where a presiding judge passed severe censure upon a Government oficial whose signature to a letter could not be read, was made during the meeting of the Waipaw.i Hospital Board at Waipukurau. A member of the board recalled the judge's remarks when it was mentioned at the meeting; that some errors in a certain report had been due to bad writing. “The judge was quite right," remarked the board's chairman, Mr. W. H. Rathbone. “We get any amount of letters here with signatures we cannot read, and unless there is a printed letter-head, we often do not know from where they have come. A man should write his name legibly." As Mr. Rathbone finished speaking, Mr. N. G. Hawthorne held up a letter bearing the signature of an. officer of the Hospital Board, remarking as he did so: “They are not the only ones. There is a signature here I cannot read." The official concerned joined in the general laughter.